Coronavirus

Health officials provide COVID-19 vaccine update at St. Clair County briefing

By Garen Vartanian and Mike Koziatek

Updated December 31, 2020 5:31 PM

Click to read COVID-19 updates for your county:

St. Clair County Madison County Randolph County Clinton County Monroe County Macoupin County	Perry County Jersey County Washington County Bond County Calhoun County Illinois, U.S., and World

County Health Department Executive Director Barb Hohlt provided a vaccine update for St. Clair County during Thursday’s daily briefing.

She said the first doses of the vaccine went to front-line health care workers such as doctors, nurses and hospital staff and long-term care facilities as part of Phase 1a outlined by the Illinois Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control. These are priority populations that needed to be vaccinated first.

“Next week will be the third week of when the vaccine first came out in St. Clair County. So they’re expecting the shipments to be able to give the second dose,” Hohlt said. “We want to make sure those folks are taken care of. Those are the folks that take care of us on a daily basis. As well as the long-term care facilities, they’re a very vulnerable population. The pharmacies from CVS and Walgreens will be getting that out to those long-term care facilities as well.”

Hohlt then explained the next step once Phase 1a is complete, noting the newly opened testing facility at 330 W. Main St. will serve as a vaccination site.

“As soon as 1a is completed that we have vaccines sufficient to provide services to all those in St. Clair County that wish to have the vaccine, then we will start as a health department and with our community partners vaccinating those in 1b,” she said. “The fire, the police, those 75 years of age and older, the teachers, those priority essential health workers. So as soon as we get it, we will be giving information out here at this 3:30 update and as well as through our media. We’re not going to hold it. As soon as we get it, we’re prepared to roll it out.”

Hohlt then explained the county will not receive all the vaccinations it needs at once since it’s in a limited supply.

“So the state and CDC is spreading it out on a limited basis to everyone in shipments,” Hohlt said. “So as we get our shipments — there’s a limited supply — we’ll prioritize those folks in Phase 1b, and we will be advising folks through the media to let you know where you can go and how you can sign up for appointments. We don’t have the vaccine yet, and we don’t have appointment availability yet, because we don’t know when we’re going to get it.

“But as soon as we do, we’re going to be getting it into the arms of folks in St. Clair County as fast as we can. Please be patient. We’re doing the best we can, and we’ll get it to you.”

For up to date information, visit https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department and follow the health department on Social Media: Facebook: @SCC.HealthDepartment; and Twitter: @stclairhealth.

Update on new COVID-19 variant, New Year’s Eve caution

Hohlt said Thursday, as far as she knows, no cases of the new variant have been reported in Illinois.

She also cited information provided by Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health

“These viruses constantly change,” Hohlt said. “They mutate. Variants are expected according to Dr. Ezike. She also states, at this time, we have no evidence that infections by this variant cause more severe disease or death. However, it does show this particular variant spreads more easily and more quickly. So, again, it’s new. We’ll continue to work with our IDPH partners and CDC partners.

“But, again, what this message is, is that we need to remember to make sure we continue to remain vigilant. I know this has been a long road. We’re getting there. We have a light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccine is coming very soon.”

Hohlt then cautioned people about New Year’s Eve parties.

“Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Traditionally we like to get together with family and friends and celebrate the new year,” she said. “And I think a lot of us our glad to see 2020 go. But, again, please keep those social events to your very own pod, your very own bubble of the folks you’ve been with. Make sure you wear your mask and protect yourself as well as your family, friends and all.”

St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern echoed Hohlt’s remarks and added if people do leave home for New Year’s Eve to practice COVID-19 safety protocols.

“We wish everyone a happy New Year’s Eve and a Happy New Year,” Kern said. “But we really need to be aware the spread is out there. There are a lot of people out there right now that don’t know they have COVID that do. If you can, stay home. If you’re going to be out, be sure to wear the mask, wash the hands, watch the social distancing. It’s just so important we get through this.”

Added St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons, “Every one of us, all of Team St. Clair members and everybody out there is stressed over this. They’re tired of it. We’re tired of it. But as we’ve said all along, the virus isn’t tired. It’s still here. And it’s looking to continue to go on. And we have to be the people to battle that. Each of us has that responsibility.”

Hospital, ICU bed availability drops in Region 4

Staffed hospital bed availability saw another marked drop in the metro-east Thursday as the region’s case rate rose slightly.

As of Thursday, 13.4% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, down from 14.7% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the region’s intensive care unit availability also fell Thursday, dropping from 22.4% on Wednesday to 21.6% on Thursday.

For Tier 3 mitigation metrics to be relaxed or to move to Tier 2, the region must experience a seven-day rolling average testing positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days while also seeing 20% intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability for three consecutive days.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he isn’t ready to lift mitigations on the state, even as some regions see caseloads and hospitalizations and ICU usage decrease.

Tier 3 restrictions went into place statewide on Friday, Nov. 20. The third tier tightens restrictions on indoor dining, bars and social gatherings while adding restrictions to casinos, retailers, video gaming and museums.

Officials have continued to stress the possibility of the region running low on hospital and ICU beds, prompting some area hospitals to temporarily cease elective surgeries. Additionally, officials say they worry a spike of new COVID-19 cases could be on the way due to Christmas celebrations.

Region 4’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate, meanwhile, was 12.2% on Thursday, up from 12.1% on Wednesday. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Dec. 28. A region’s positivity rate is the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.

The state classifies the metro-east as Region 4, which covers seven counties: St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph. County-by-county data is available on the state health department’s website.

Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 15.1% on Thursday, a sharp rise from 11.5% on Wednesday.

St. Louis task force reports decrease in patients

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported Thursday there was a decrease in the number of patients being treated for COVID-19. Also, the number of coronavirus-related deaths dropped to 16, down from 26 on Wednesday. The seven-day moving average of COVID deaths remained the same at 17 Thursday. Here are some patient statistics released by the task force:

New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased from 98 on Wednesday to 93 on Thursday.
The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased — from 102 on Wednesday to 100 on Thursday.
The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations decreased — from 832 on Wednesday to 826 on Thursday.

The task force was formed in April to coordinate the efforts of four health systems: BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital. The group’s statistics include results from BJC HealthCare’s metro-east hospitals: Alton Memorial Hospital, Memorial Hospital in Belleville and Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh.

Illinois reports new cases, deaths Thursday

This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number in parentheses shows the difference from the previous day’s increase or total.

New cases: 8,009 (+635)

New deaths: 133 (-45)

New tests: 99,426 (+24,853)

Total cases: 963,389

Total deaths: 16,490

Total tests: 13,277,443

Hospitalizations: 4,093 (-151)

People in ICU: 837 (-45)

People on ventilators: 496 (no change from Wednesday)

Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 24-30): 7.7% (+0.1)

Thursday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases (as of 5:30 p.m.): 545 (-8)

New deaths (as of 5:30 p.m.): 8 (+3) (St. Clair County reported 5 new deaths and Madison County reported 3 new deaths.)

Daily positivity rate (as of Monday): 15.1% (+3.6%)

Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Monday): 12.2% (+0.1%)

Regional hospitalizations: 185 (-18) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 20 (-2) (provided by St. Clair County)

Hospital bed availability: 13.4% (-1.3%)

ICU bed availability: 21.6% (-0.8%)

New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (as of 5 p.m.): 0 (-133)

New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4 (as of 5 p.m.): 0 (-2)

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 192 new positives, 5 new deaths, 1,970 new tests administered, 137 new recoveries, 2 fewer patients hospitalized, 1 fewer patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 20,848 positives, 329 deaths, 207,848 tests administered, 18,975 recoveries, 120 patients hospitalized with 14 patients on ventilators

Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 192 new positives, 103 individuals were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported 1 new case and 1 new death; Morningside of Shiloh reported 2 new cases; St. Paul’s Home in Belleville reported 1 new death; Swansea Rehab & Care Center reported 1 new case; Cedarhurst Senior Living in Shiloh reported 2 new cases; Cedar Ridge Health & Rehab Center in Lebanon reported 2 new cases; and Freeburg Care Center reported 2 new cases.

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 18.2% (+6.7%); 7-day average — 11.9% (+0.6%)

MADISON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 272 new positives, 3 new deaths, 1,433 new tests administered, 299 new recoveries, 7 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 20,629 positives, 365 deaths, 191,959 tests administered, 11,604 recoveries, 47 patients hospitalized with 6 patients on ventilators

Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 272 new positives, 148 individuals were under the age of 40.

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 12.1% (+0.4%); 7-day average — 11.9% (no change from Wednesday)

CLINTON COUNTY

Thursdsay’s new data: No new data as of 5:30 p.m.

Total overall: 4,420 positives, 75 deaths, 3,958 recoveries, 11 patients hospitalized

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 8.4% (+5.3%); 7-day average — 10.3% (-0.9%)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 10 new positives, 21 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized

Total overall: 3,326 positives, 53 deaths, 3,059 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 25.9% (+8.8%); 7-day average — 13.9% (+0.1%)

MONROE COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 71 new positives

Total overall: 3,138 positives, 58 deaths, 26 patients hospitalized

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 25.2% (+17.3%); 7-day average — 14.2% (+1.3%)